Boeing steps up rollout of 787s

EVERETT — Boeing's head salesman disclosed Friday that 787 jets will be rolling out of Everett at a minimum rate of 10 a month soon after production starts — a faster rate than for any previous wide-body jet in the company's history.

The increase, from an original plan for seven a month, probably won't require a large number of extra production workers. But, in a hot market where Boeing can sell as many of these new wide-body jets as it can build, a speedy ramp-up will boost sales.

"We're talking about stepping up fairly rapidly to 10 a month," said Scott Carson, vice president of sales at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, speaking Friday at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting. Boeing has never before built more than seven per month of any wide-body model.

Boeing plans to deliver the first 787s in May or June 2008, according to internal schedules obtained by The Seattle Times. The company has firm orders or commitments for more than 400 aircraft, with sales proposals under evaluation for 500 more.

Because Airbus won't roll out a rival to the 787 until 2011 or 2012, the more airplanes Boeing can build before then, the more of the market it has to itself.

Carson's statement comes in advance of the findings of a Boeing study due this summer to assess its maximum potential production rate.

Internal documents show that Boeing is examining the feasibility of making 14 per month, double the original production plan. A senior executive with a 787 supplier said in an interview last month that Boeing is even considering an eventual production rate as high as 16 per month.

In his speech, Carson warned of the danger of increasing rates too quickly, risking the kind of production crises that hit Boeing in 1998 when production lines in both Everett and Renton had to be shut down for months as spare parts failed to arrive on time.

"There's a great temptation to rush into a decision to increase the rate because the market is strong," he said. "But if you don't do this deliberately, with great care, you could make a dreadful mistake."

A single bottleneck in the worldwide 787 supply chain could crimp expansion plans. Carson cited, for example, the need to get environmental clearances for extra paint hangars in Everett.

"[Increasing the production rate] is a very complex process," he said. "It competes all the time with the desire of the salesmen to sell more airplanes."

Dominic Gates: 206-464-2963